When we planned the first PTP Cyber Fest last year, we set out to create something different from the usual cybersecurity events. After two busy days last week, we can proudly say the event delivered exactly what we hoped for and more.
Paying it forward
Cyber Fest has always been about creating space for the conversations, connections, and skills that don’t always fit into traditional events. Instead of sales pitches and corporate suits, we wanted practical experiences and open exchange. That was the idea from the start, and it’s what continues to shape the event.
This year, we focused more than ever on giving attendees real opportunities to get hands-on and meet others facing similar challenges. We believe that paying knowledge forward helps make the whole industry stronger.
What made PTP Cyber Fest 2025 stand out?
This year, we expanded the Cyber Fest with more villages, welcomed more speakers, and created even more chances for attendees to get involved.
The villages played a major role in shaping the experience. Attendees learnt to pick locks, learnt to intercept, decode and re-inject CAN data on cars, flew a full-size Airbus simulator with various faults injected, captained a ship, all with good conversations.
Alongside all that, we brought together a range of speakers over the two days. The line-up included CISOs from organisations such as the BBC, Bupa, Investec, and Penguin Random House. They shared clear and honest views on cybersecurity leadership and the real-world challenges they face.
And of course, Cyber Fest 2025 would not be complete without the Cyber House Party. The event delivered more than just an amazing evening. Thanks to the generosity of those who attended the event raised over £27,000 for the NSPCC!
Watching the cybersecurity community come together to learn, connect, and give back remains one of the most rewarding highlights of the event.
The Villages
In the Cloud and AI Village, you could test your skills with a live prompt injection mini-CTF.
The Lock Picking Village was a hit, as always. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of picking your first lock. Big thanks to RiverSafe for supporting that one.
Over at the Automotive Village with Auto-ISAC, you could intercept real CAN bus messages and use them to control a racing game using messages taken from the CAN bus of a real car as a controller.
The Aerospace Village with the Aviation ISAC let you try your hand at flying a full-size Airbus A320 simulator and experience how radio spoofing can mess with a landing at London City Airport (it’s harder than it looks).
At the DFIR Village, people raced against the clock to answer digital forensics and incident response questions before ransomware “encrypted” their system.
The OT & ICS Village, thanks to the University of Bristol, gave people the chance to mess around with ladder logic, hack a PLC, and even take control of a robot. Plus, our own team made a cocktail-making machine, more on this in a later blog.
We also had an ICS Cocktail Maker made by fitting a Siemens S7 PLC and other gear into an automated bartender!
If you had a sticky security problem or just wanted advice, the Consultancy Village was the place to be. Our consultants were there to chat about strategy, compliance, or whatever else was on your mind.
In the Rail Village, you could get hands-on with a model railway hooked up to real OT signalling systems.
The Maritime Village gave attendees the captain’s chair in a ship simulator, offering a real feel for what happens when cyber issues hit vessels.
And if you thought you were good under pressure, the Finance Village had a crisis simulation that put you to the test managing incidents when every second and every penny counts.
And that wasn’t all, the Retail & Hospitality ISAC team were there too, ready to talk about the unique security challenges in those industries.
Thank You
Cyber Fest doesn’t happen without a lot of support. Huge thanks to RiverSafe, The Retail & Hospitality ISAC, Aviation ISAC, and Auto-ISAC for being part of this year’s event. Their help meant we could keep Cyber Fest open, accessible, and hands-on just the way we like it.
